James Wilder Jr. commits to Florida State over Florida, Georgia

By By Brendan Sonnone and Chris Hays | For the Orlando Sentinel

It was supposed to come down to Florida and Florida State, and Georgia was supposed to be a distant third for Tampa Plant's James Wilder Jr. And the Bulldogs may have been third, or even second. All that matters in recruiting, however, is who's first.

James Wilder will be heading to Florida State to continue his college football career..

Wilder fooled people at first as he walked into the Plant High gym Wednesday afternoon with a black polo underneath a red vest, signaling maybe he was leaning Georgia.

It was also reported Tuesday by FanHouse.com that Wilder would be committing to the Bulldogs.

So much for anonymous reports. Wilder stayed true too his early stances that he would likely stay in Florida to play colllege ball.

"It was a good process. I mean, I had over 70 offers, so I was very blessed to be in that position but it came down to three," James said. "I just chose Florida State because that's where my heart was.

More than 100 people showed up for the announcement, which was also shown over the regional Bright House Sports Network.

Wilder, the No. 1 player in the Sentinel's Florida Top 100 by Bill Buchalter, was just shy of 900 yards rushing and had 16 touchdowns as a running back last season. He has also had 34 sacks over the past two seasons as defenisve end. He wants to play running back in college, and the Seminoles and Coach Jimbo Fisher are obviously willing to accommodate the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder who's father is former NFL star James Wilder Sr.

"They use big backs ... they have a history of big backs," James said of Florida State. "Coach Jimbo Fisher definitely knows how to run the ball, he comes from the SEC, LSU